Hat-conforming means.



W. D. HALFNIANN.

HAT CONFORMING MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED ocT.1. I9Is.

1,190,998. Patented July 11, 1916.

l//l//ll/l/l//lllllll/ l altering the shape of the hat crown. ,'I

features of my invention. are described hereinafter, reference WHILLDIN D. HALFMANN,

OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

HAT-Conromnrnc MEANS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July ii, raie;

Application filed October 7, 1915. Serial No; 54,575.

To all whom it may concern:

MANN,

siding in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Hat-Conforming Means, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to means for enabling hats of various kinds to properly conform to the head, more particularly hats worn by men; and the object of my ,inven-v tion is to provide a resilient, compressible or elastic cushion between the hat'crown` an the head. Preferably this cushion will lie betweenthe wall of the hat crown and the sweat band. When so employed, the sweat band will normally lie a slight distance away from the body of the hat; held out by the elastic or resilient cushion. By such an arrangement, any hat of proper size will readily and comfortably conform to the shape of the head without the'necessity of hese and other more fully being had to the accompanying drawings, 1n which:

Figure l, is a perspective view, partly in section, showing a portion of the hat crown with conforming means embodying my invention applied thereto; tional plan view of part of sweat band, showing conforming means embodying mv invention interposed between such sweat band and the hat crown; Fig. 3, is a sectional view on the line III-IIL Fig. 2, and Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, are views showing other forms of means within the scope of my'invention.

Hats as usually made, hats of straw, stiff felt, and silk, have a substantially standard contour usually oval. The shape of the wearers head, however, rarely conforms to the supposed standard shape of the hat opening, and as is well known, the common practice is to attempt to shape a conform to or fit the head of the wearer. Such attempt at conformation, however, is rarely successful; the material of which the hat is composed preventing proper re-shaping. By placing va continuous resilient cushion between the hat and the wearers head, preferably between the sweat band and the hat. crown, however,

proper provision 1s made for insuring that Fig. 2, is a sec-,

a hat and its resilient conforming, A l

tion,and yet with suflicient more lparticularly hat at the time of purchase to the hat will fit the head of the wearer, since the protuberances ofthe head will compress .the cushion member at the points desired without creating undue pressure upon the head, while the hollow portions ofthe skull may receive the fully expanded portions of the resilient cushion.

In the drawings, 1 represents the hat, 2 the sweat band, and V3 a continuous coil of wire which is slightly flattened and lies between tlie wall of the hat crown and the sweat band. This coiled wire may be held in its slightly flattened condition by various means, but must occupy such position with respect to the wall of the crown and the sweat band as'to cause the latter to project inwardly Va slight distance so as to insure a proper amount of compressibility between the sweat band and the hat crown when the hat is placed upon the head.

In constructing the resilient spacing and conforming cushion member constituting my invention, I prepare a continuous coil of fine wire, preferably of a non-ferrous character, and secure the Same to the hat crown, preferably between the latter and the sweatband. The coils of'this wire member maybe round, oval or flattened. `Various means of securing this coiled wire spring to the hat may be employed. For instance, I preferably dispose adjacent the same, as shown in F' gs. 1, 2 and 8, a flexible continnous member 5, usually of metal, which may be readily secured to the hat crown, whici member has clips or prongs 6, struck up from the body ofthe same, for attachment tothe convolutions of the coiled spring so as to hold the latter in the proper collapsed posiresiliency to form'a cushion for engagement with the head or hold the sweat band away from the hat crown in the proper' position. In some instances the coiled spring may be inclosed in a fabric cover 7 to facilitate the placing ofthe same in position in the hat; the cover being sewn in place. In some instances the fabric cover for the Acoiled spring may be omitted, and the spring secure in place by fastening the member to the hat crown. The cover is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, but omitted in Fig. 4l, in which arrangement the member 5 is secured to the hat crown.

In the structures shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and Ll, the member 5 is disposed externally of the spring. In Fig. 5, however, I have shown this member 5 internally arranged with respect to a coiled spring; the cover 7 being also omitted. In Fig. G, the coiled spring is shown as held in place by long and short stitches, S and 9, respectively, between the hat crown and the sweat band. ln Figs. 7, 8, and 9, I show a wire spring 3av with flattened coils which will stand out from the hat crown as indicated. No matter how applied, however, the spring will project a slight distance inwardly from the inner wall of the hat crown to 'form a cushion for thehead, and when between the hat crown and sweat band will support the latter in proper position so that when the hat is applied to the head portions of the spring' will compress and insure that the hat conforms properly7 and comfortably to the head.

By preference, I connect the lower edge ot' the sweat band with the hat crown by a row of elongated stitches or a vperforated strip l0, and as the coiled wire will hold the sweatband away from the inner wall of the hat at all points where the pressure of the head is not applied, the structure I have devised affords an admirable ventilator for the hat, permitting' a free circulation of air to pass into the cavity of the crown substantially at all points of the head.

Thile I have rel-'erred to the use of a spring cushion made of metal, it will be understood that a cushion might be made of a coil of stili liber having the desired resiliency when coiled,

I claim:

l. The combination with a hat having a sweat band, of a normally-flattened coiled member forming a cushion and disposed on the inside of the crown of the same adjacent the portion normally contacting with the head, and means independent of the sweat band for securing said coiled member to the hat crown whereby said member is maintained in its partially flattened position.

i?. The combination with a hat and the sweat band thereof, of a coiled spring disposed on the inside of the crown ofthe hat adjacent the portion normally contacting with the head, a continuous member independent of the sweat band to which the coils of said spring are attached for holding` the spring in partially'ilattened position to provide a cushion between the head and the hat, and means for securing said spring and the continuous member to the hat.

3. The combination with a hat and the usual sweat band therefor, of a coiled spring interposed between said hat and its sweat band, a continuous member independent of the sweat band and disposed within the spring to which coils of the latter are attached for holding the spring in a partially flattened condition to provide a cushion be` tween the sweat band and the hat, and means for securing' said continuous member to the hat to hold said coiled spring .in place.

4, The combination withY a hat and a sweat band therefor, of a cushioning mem` ber for the head disposed between the hat and its sweat band, said cushioning member comprising a coiled spring, a continuous member independent of the sweat band and to which the coils of the spring are sepa rately attached whereby said spring may be held in a partially lattcned condition, means for holding said continuous member and the spring to the hat, and an inclosing cover for said spring and its continuous connect ing member.

5. The combination with a hat and a sweat band therefor, of a cushioning mem` ber for the head disposed between the hal and its sweat band, said cushioning` member comprising a coiledv spring, and a coni tinuous member independent ol the sweat band disposed within the same, said member having prongs engaging the several coils of the spring wiereby said spring may be held in a partially flattened condition, and means for securing said cushioning member in place.

WHILLDIN D. HALFMANN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

